Why networking works best when you are not networking at all

Stand on the shore of the lake with us, take that first step into the cold water together, and then let’s see where the conversation goes afterwards.

In our professional lives, most of us attend conferences and networking events where the format rarely changes. Usually, there is a room decorated in improbable colours and with awful flower arrangements, a terrace with a view if you get lucky, a glass of something that is rarely memorable, and polite conversations with people you have just met before getting down to business.

Some people genuinely enjoy it. Others find it exhausting, especially when the event runs for several days. And some people find it kind of artificial.

Does it sound familiar?

This is one of the reasons why we started the Commodities Swimming Club. We wanted to organise something new for the commodities community, with a twist on the usual networking format.

The lake helped us change the dynamic of professional networking as cold water does not care about job titles or seniority.

When you swim with other people and your fingers have gone numb and you are trying to catch your breath, nobody is thinking about performing a role. Everyone is busy gasping, trembling, swearing, or simply laughing loudly.

There is something fascinating about facing the same challenge with other people, and allowing yourself to look a little vulnerable turns out to be a powerful way to connect.

Formality dissolves instantly, and relationships formed by the water tend to last well beyond the swim. Members help one another with introductions, offer advice on the most disparate topics, or simply check in when things are not going so well.

Maybe it is not a surprise, but the best networking is rarely the result of trying to network. It is a by-product of doing something you like alongside other people.

And perhaps this is the quiet secret of the club: there are no carefully prepared introductions, nor formal exchanges of business cards that will end up on a pile.

We simply share a love of a challenge, meet for a swim, and conversations just follow on their own.

So, yes, I do know the slightly hollow feeling you may have felt after leaving that networking event. Try something different. Stand on the shore of the lake with us, take that first step into the cold water together, and then let’s see where the conversation goes afterwards.

You may find, as I did, that the best networking happens when you are not networking at all.

Interested in joining the crew? You can apply here.